'Is it fair to hire a hitman to solve a problem?': Pope Francis compares abortion to a mafia-style killing

Pope Francis has compared abortion to a mafia-style killing, saying it's the equivalent of hiring a hitman to “take out a human life to solve a problem.”

Francis made the comments, among his strongest yet against abortion, during his weekly Wednesday audience dedicated to the commandment exhorting the faithful not to kill.

In opposition to the argument that people justify abortion as respecting other rights, he said, “How can an act that suppresses innocent and defenseless life as it blossoms be therapeutic, civil or simply human?”

He asked if it was fair “to take out a human life” to solve a problem: “Is it fair to hire a hitman to solve a problem? It is not fair. We cannot take out a human being, even if it is small.”

In August, there were calls for Pope Francis to resign after refusing to comment on claims by the Vatican’s retired ambassador to the United States that he knew in 2013 about sexual misconduct allegations against a former archbishop.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano called on the Pope to resign after claiming that the two discussed allegations surrounding Theodore McCarrick in 2013.

Francis accepted McCarrick's resignation as cardinal in July, after a US church investigation determined that an accusation he had sexually abused a minor was credible.